Not Quite Alive
by SquiddlesScribbles
Summary: Ciel and Vivian used to be best friends, until they had to go their separate ways. Vivian soon finds herself back with her noble friend, but she's in danger of being taken away again. This, however, was in the past. Let's see how our two little nobles do navigating their way through the modern world. Updated version of Unliving. Still OCxCiel
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy night. A Duchess by the name of Vivian Annalise Noxford was traveling from her home, in France, to London. She was young, only about fifteen years old, with long curly blonde hair, and light blue eyes. The young noblewoman was taking a carriage through the quiet countryside on her way to her destination and she was resting, with her head turned towards the window and her eyes drooping as she fought off sleep. Her hand was resting on her chest, where she clutched the gem on her necklace in he hand. Her mind was, quite obviously, very far away from where she was.

Beside her sat her butler, Lawrence Griffin, with light brown hair that stopped a little bit below his chin, with the front and sides of his hair pulled back into a ponytail with the rest hanging free. He had dark purple eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a strong jawline. He was dressed in a black suit with a deep purple vest, and white cravat pinned down with a silver snake pendant. Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder and a strike of lightning right next to their carriage, causing the two horses that were pulling the carriage to rear up and send the carriage toppling over. The young noble screamed as her eyes snapped open and a shard of glass sliced her pale cheek, and another shard cutting open her shoulder. "Mistress!" Lawrence called, jumping to shield her body from the impact too late, yet still taking on damage that could have hurt his master even more.

He hurriedly picked her small body up and looked around, before setting his eyes on the Phantomhive Mansion. He runs and jumps, landing in front of the door and knocking on it. The butler of the estate, Sebastian, answers. "Hello, welcome to the Phantomhive Manor, what happened to this child?" He asked.

 _Phantomhive, where have I heard that name?_ "Our carriage, it got struck by lightning, and my mistress got cut by shards of glass from the windows," Lawrence said with a cool, calm, demeanor.

"Well, let's get her inside and fixed up before the wounds get infected," Sebastian said, taking her in his own arms.

"Sebastian!" A familiar, familiar to the young girl that is, voice called. "What is happening?" A boy, who looked to be about 16, had blue tinted-black hair, and a single sapphire blue eye, with the other covered by an eye patch, walked down the stairs and saw the young noble in _his_ faithful butler's arms and Lawrence standing in the doorway. "Oh my...get her some help, Sebastian!" He ordered.

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian quickly took the blonde into one of the guest rooms and bandaged her wounds. The room was painted wine red, with a white plush carpet. There was a window on the far side of the room, that had its white curtains pulled shut. A mahogany dresser sat in front of the wall adjacent to the bed, with a couple picture frames with the previous Earl of Phantomhive and his wife. The bed frame was also made of mahogany wood, and the sheets were wine red. Sebastian had laid the young girl on top of the golden embroidered duvet, with her back pressed against a pillow covered in a red silk pillowcase. "I called a doctor but he won't be able to make it tonight, due to the weather," The Phantomhive butler said as he finished with her bandages. The boy walked in, ordering the two butlers out. He looked familiar, but Vivian couldn't quite place her finger on _where_ she saw him before.

"Hello," He said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, next to her. "I'm Ciel, Earl of Phantomhive, what is your name?" Then it hit her. Loads of childhood memories flooded into her brain as she thought about _him._

"I-I'm..." _quick, think!_ _He mustn't know my true identity._ She thought silently. "Lady Charlotte Noxford of… um... Scotland... I'd curtsy, but I don't think I can in this position," She said with a slight smile. _Damn._ _I shouldn't have said my_ _ **real**_ _last name. Now he's suspicious._ She mentally smacked her hand to her forehead. This is why people call her a stupid blonde.

"Noxford? I feel as though I have heard that name before," Ciel mutters quietly to himself. "You wouldn't happen to know a Lady by the name of Vivian Annalise Noxford, would you?" He asked and she almost gasped. He remembered her...after all those years…

"No, I am quite sorry. Who is she? A friend?" She asked.

"Oh, no one too important, just an old friend that I've been searching for," He said and she sighed. _He's been looking for me_. _I am such an awful person_. _This is why everyone hates me._ _Whenever there is even the faintest shred of light for someone to grasp at, I cast a shadow on it_. "You should get some rest," Ciel interrupted the young lady's inner monologue.

"Yes, thank you, for your hospitality," She said. Ciel nodded and left the room. She laid her head down on a pillow and fell asleep with Ciel on her mind.

"Mistress... Vivian, wake up," Lawrence said lightly shaking her petite form.

"I-I'm up," She said as she sat up. She blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Oh, Lawrence, if you could, when Ciel and Sebastian are around, could you please call me Lady Charlotte?"

He looked confused. "As you wish, but may I ask why?" She sighed. Vivian looked around to make sure Ciel and Sebastian weren't nearby as Lawrence stood her up and started helping her out of her night-gown.

"A long time ago, around the time my parents died, I had to leave Ciel. He and I used to be best friends, you know, before those bastards took my mother and father... I would always go over to his house and play with him," A tear came to her eye and Lawrence pulled one of her blue dresses from one of her bags. It was sky blue, and had ruffled sleeves, and a slightly modest neckline. It had a blue bow, that was the same color of the dress, at the top, right on the neckline. It, like most of the dresses from that time, went down to the ground and "poofed" out at the waist.

"You and him were close friends. Why did that change?" He asked, helping her into a corset.

"I was forced to the streets. It was nearly impossible to get food until _he_ came along… I… I couldn't let Ciel see me like that." She glared at her half-naked reflection, at all of the imperfections marring her body. She was disgusting inside and out. "Three years...I was only able to be with him for three years until he left too…" She trailed off, sighing. She tilted her head to the side so she could see the contract mark on her collarbone. A green circle with a pentagram inside, and a snake coiled around the pentagram. She sighed again and Lawrence moved her hair so it covered the contract. He knew how self conscious she is about her mark. "He would be too ashamed to look at me if he knew what I did to survive." She shuddered, thinking about her past. "That, is why he mustn't know who I am."

"Yes, of course. Really, you shouldn't trouble yourself with things from the past, it will only make you miserable, your grace," Lawrence said. He's like the father she doesn't have anymore. And he'll be here forever, since what she wished for hasn't, and can't come true. She trapped him in eternal servitude, or at least until she dies of natural causes. She felt bad, but there was nothing that she could do to repay him. _Thank you Lawrence…_ She thought to herself, even though she knew he wouldn't hear it. He continued to dress her, and when he was nearly finished, he clipped a silver necklace with a drop-cut emerald on her. Then, they both exited the room.

Vivian and Ciel sat at the dining room table next to each other as their butlers served them a late lunch. Vivian looked around the dining hall in amazement. It was much larger than she remembered. She looked down at the teacup she was holding in her hand. It was so beautiful. It was white with a gold trim, with a small depiction of a pink flower on its side. The tea she was drinking was sweet and a little strong smelling, but she couldn't place what kind it was. "So, where were you two traveling to?" Ciel asked her.

"Oh, no where important, really. Just London." She replied, sipping her tea.

"Oh, really? What would you be doing there?" He asked.

"Business deals," She said. They finished up and move out to a sitting room. It had a small table with chess pieces set up as if in preparation for a game, though the two teens were sitting in chairs opposite of each other, right next to the chess table. They were still sipping the same kind of tea as earlier, and she still couldn't place what kind it was. The chairs they were seated in were large and comfortable, made of a soft material that kind of felt like velvet and were dyed a dark purple. The room itself was painted light blue, much like a sky. There was a window right behind Vivian's seat that let in some of the afternoon light. Overall, it was a very beautiful room. On the wall beside them was an unlit fireplace.

"For what? You seem a bit young to be running a business," Ciel says.

"As do you," She replies, smirking as she took another sip of her tea.

"What was the deal for, anyway?" He asks.

"I own a company for making beverages and I was planning on expanding my business to the heart of London. To be honest, it is hard running a business all by myself, ever since I had to fire my closest business partner, Augustus, it has been completely unbearable," She says, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb.

"Why did you have to fire him?" He asks.

"You ask a lot of questions," She says with a barely noticeable half-smile on her face. "I had to fire him because I found out he was making plans with my rivalling company to kidnap and sell me. You know, get rid of the competition. When I found out I told the police, but they were no use because he was so good at lying and it was his word against mine. Since I'm so young, they didn't believe me and so I simply had to just fire him. Sadly though I fired him after I told him of my plans of expanding the business to London. He knows I'll have to stay in the city for a bit and will probably take me at some point," She says, taking yet another sip of her tea. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's found out I'm staying here. He is pretty clever."

"Firing him was a pretty fair thing to do. Though, if it were me I probably would have had him killed," Ciel said nonchalantly, though he was a bit surprised that she was so casual talking about possibly being kidnapped. Was it a regular occurrence for her like it had been for him as a human?

Vivian pouted like a child. "Oh, why didn't I think of that! That would have been much less of a headache for me." Her eyes glanced over to a clock on the wall as an idea came to mind. "Oh, look at the time… I have quite a bit of paperwork to do… If you'll excuse me." She stood up and did a small curtsy to Ciel. Vivian began to walk out of the room, Lawrence following close behind her. As they were walking up the stairs to her guest room, she leaned over to her butler. "Go take out the trash for me, Lawrence. You know which trash I'm referring to." He bowed, his deep purple eyes flashing red.

"Yes, mistress."

When Lawrence left, she continued on to her room. When she opened the door and walked in, someone grabbed her from behind, gagging and blindfolding her before knocking her out.

As soon as Lawrence stepped out of the manor, he felt like something bad had happened. His sixth sense was going haywire. Immediately he knew it was Vivian. Only that girl could cause him such distress. The brunette man ran back into the large mansion and up to his master's bedroom and saw it in a state of disrepair. As if also sensing something had happened, Sebastian popped into the room behind him. "Is something the matter?" He asked coolly.

Lawrence shook his head with an amused half-smile. "No, no. It seems as though my master has been kidnapped."

"Would you like some assistance in finding her?" Sebastian asked.

Lawrence shrugged and adjusted his cravat, "I don't really need it but a bit of help could come in handy."

"Sebastian, what's going on in here-?" Ciel walked in and stopped in his tracks. "What the hell happened in here? Where's Lady Charlotte?"

"My apologies, Earl Phantomhive. My master was taken from her room," Lawrence bowed his head in an apology. "I was just about to go get her."

"Sebastian, go with him. I shall go too." Ciel said.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow with his ever-present smirk. "Are you sure, young master?"

" _Yes_ , I'm sure," The bluenette said in annoyance. "Let's just go.."

They set off with Lawrence leading them, since he knew who had to have taken Vivian and where his hideout was.

It took a mere few minutes to reach the warehouse Vivian was being held captive in. Sebastian walked up the steps and set Ciel down on them. "Stay here." Sebastian said.

"Fine," The young demon grumbled.

Sebastian sprinted in with Lawrence and Ciel heard a lot of commotion from inside. He so badly wanted to join, but he knew it would be safer outside, as he wasn't as adept at fighting multiple people at a time as his butler, even though he was still a demon too.

"Get away from me!" He heard Charlotte scream from inside.

"Oh, stop fighting, dear Vivian," The young Earl heard a voice say and he gasped. He knew she was his Vivian! _He knew it..._ He heard a gunshot then some other commotion before Lawrence and Sebastian walked out with a trembling Vivian in Lawrence' arms.

"Vivian," The young demon muttered softly, walking to her side and grasping her limp hand. He could see her other hand pressed painfully hard into her shoulder, and blood was collecting on the hand fast. The gunshot he heard a minute ago was probably what caused her injury.

"So you found out...?" She asked, her light blue eyes dimming with sadness. "I tried so hard to keep it from you," she said weakly.

"Why? What did I do?" He asked, walking with Lawrence.

"I… I'm sorry, Ciel..." she said before she fainted.

Vivian woke up hours later, after Lawrence fixed up her wounds. When she woke up, the young demon's hand was in her's. "Oh, hello Ciel," She said softly, looking over at him.

"How are you feeling?" He asked hurriedly.

"Kind of sore, but still quite well," She said looking up at his sapphire eye.

"Could I do anything to help?" He asked.

"No, just being here with you is helping," She said, smiling very faintly.

"Why didn't you tell me who you really are?" He asked.

"You couldn't know. If you knew what happened after my parents died...you'd never look at me the same again. I know it," She said, with tears glistening in her eyes.

"You can tell me anything and I will still think of you the same as I always have," He said, lightly squeezing her hand and she slowly lifted her hand to push her hair to the side, showing off her glowing green mark.

"I made a contract with a demon…" She looked down at her lap in shame.

Ciel started to chuckle, which then turned into a laugh. "That's it?" He raised an eyebrow in amusement before lifting his eyepatch, showing off his purple contract mark. "So have I."

Her cheeks burned in embarrassment. "I-I also killed a lot of people to get the title of Duchess-!"

Ciel rolled his eyes, his lips still turned up in an amused smirk. "I've killed a lot of people too. Anything else you think is too bad for me to hear?"

"I-I used be poor…?" She said weakly, her argument as to why she hid herself from him for so long fading.

"I already knew that." Ciel shrugged.

"Wh-what-?! I only found out recently!" She pouted. "That's not faaaiiir!"

Ciel chuckled again and placed his hand on her head, petting her hair. "You're just as childish as you were when you were an actual child…"

She looked up at him her with wide, watery, eyes. "You jerk! I was gonna tell you that I love you, but maybe I don't anymore," she said, still pouting as she crossed her arms and turned away.

He shook his head and smiled, hugging her. "I already knew that too." Vivian felt a small spark of disappointment at the fact that he didn't say it back, but pushed the feeling away. It was selfish to wish for more than what she already had. At least he wasn't disgusted with her for saying it, right?

She dropped her pout, looking back at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, I know everything." He said and pulled away from the hug. "Now go to sleep, idiot. You need your rest."

"Hmph, fiiiine…"

She turned to lay on her side and soon dozed off.

* * *

 **AN:** Hello! Thank you for reading this cringe-fest. I wrote this when was much younger (okay, yeah, two years isn't very long ago, but whatever) and I figured I'd rewrite it and try to de-cringe it a little bit. Of course it will always be there, since this OC of mine is super Mary Sue (yes, I admit it), and it's an OCxCharacter fic. Whatever, it was kind of fun to write. I've been (kind of) working with the dearest, Rei Amane in trying to make this story a little less... you know. Bad. And this has been the result. I have only a couple more chapters that have been edited, so I'll probably post them every week, if I remember.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and giving my story a chance! Constructive Criticism is always appreciated, no matter how harsh it seems! I am always working to better my work, and I can't do it without some help!

If you want to see what the dress looks like, the link is on my profile!

-Alois


	2. Chapter 2

The blonde Duchess slowly opened her eyes and saw Ciel stayed all night with her. He was sitting on a chair with his hand holding her's and his head resting on the bed. "That's cute," she said quietly, as she slowly sat up, realizing she never fixed her hair before falling asleep. _Oh well..._

"Here, let me," Lawrence said as he pushed her hair over to cover her mark. Her entire face paled. _Fuck I didn't even hear him come in!_

"O-Oh, th-thank you, L-Lawrence," She stammered, turning around to look at him.

"It was no trouble at all, though it is quite puzzling to me how your hair got so disheveled in just a few hours," He said, smirking slightly.

"It's n-not what you th-think," She said, quickly laying back down on her side so he wouldn't see her embarrassed blush.

"And what do I think?" He asked. Her blush spread to her chest, making it look red and splotchy, though no one saw this since her nightgown went up to her chin.

"You know what you are thinking!" She said, turning over so she was facing Ciel.

"I will be getting you ready later this morning. You still have a business to take care of, you know," He said, dismissing himself. "I shall prepare a bath for you, my lady. I will be back in a few minutes to get you."

"Yeah, yeah," She said quietly to herself. She lightly placed her free hand, Ciel was still holding the other, on the Earl's shoulder and shook him awake. "Ciel, you should wake up and get to your own bed," she said quietly. His eye slowly opened and he looked up at her. "Sorry to wake you, but you fell asleep in your day clothes.."

"No, thank you for waking me. To be honest, I haven't been getting much sleep," He says sitting up and rubbing his eye.

"Why is that?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Work, other things.."

"Yeah, I know that feeling. I- um, I can't even tell you how many sleepless nights I've had because of, uh, work." She looked up at him and still almost couldn't believe her eyes. This was her childhood friend, okay it was more like her only friend at this point but that's besides the point, right in front of her eyes. She accidentally ended up staring at him. He hadn't changed much, save for the eyepatch he now wore, and his face had matured more. Another thing had changed, and it was that he no longer smiled. In the small amount of time she had been reunited with him, he had not smiled once. It was… Disheartening, to say the least. Vivian sighed, and looked away from him.

She started to stand up, and winced when it jostled her injuries, namely the _hole_ in her shoulder from where she had been shot.

"Here let me help you," He says, wrapping an arm around her waist and putting her arm over his shoulder. She is shorter than he is, like she always has been, so this kind of works perfectly. This didn't make it hurt any less, though.

She walked, with his help, over to the dresser and took both her hands from him and place the on the edge of the dresser. She looked at herself in the mirror. She has the _look_ of a noblewoman. Pale, "perfect" skin, save for her contract mark and a few _burns_ , as well as a few scars in places unseen by the public's eye. Long golden hair. Light blue eyes. Short. Petite. She sighed looked away from her reflection, disgust showing on her features. Instead of looking at herself in the mirror, she turned her head to look at Ciel.

"Yes, if you haven't realized yet, Lawrence is my... _you know_ ," she said, her head still turned that way, but her eyes looked away from his.

"I had a feeling," he walked up behind her and she turned to wrapped her arms around his torso, "If you ask me, I think it makes us more alike," He said, looking at the reflection of her back over her shoulder.

"There's a lot of things that make us alike," She says.

"Such as?"

"We both lost our parents, we both have demons, we both have at least one blue eye...and a lot more," She says, pulling back to look up at him. "Though, to be honest, I like how you get to hide your blue eye. I hate both of mine," She said, looking down at her toes, which just barely peeked out from under her nightgown.

"I like them," he looked away, his face sporting a disinterested look as well as a light pink in his cheeks, "They're... Adequate."

"Really?" She asked, her voice practically dripping in skepticism.

"Of course," he cleared his throat, trying to sound as professional as possible. To be fair, he's never been in this kind of situation before. "It's the perfect shade of azure to compliment your blonde hair and fair complexion," he says, staring down at her eyes.

Her cheeks heated up. "Thank you.." she murmured again.

"I was just stating the truth, there is nothing to be thankful for," he says, pulling one of his hands away from her to run his fingers through his hair. "So, if you don't mind me asking, who kidnapped you yesterday?" he tried to change the topic.

"No, I-I don't mind… It was the man I fired. He tried to… do things… to me before Lawrence showed up," she said turning back around to face the mirror.

"Really?" he asked, his eye widening in surprise.

"Yeah..." She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. "Lawrence killed him, of course, I'm honestly disappointed I couldn't do it myself," she paused and sighed, changing the subject again, "I like spending time with you." Neither of them was sure how to talk to each other properly, and their conversation ended with them just saying something random when an awkward silence came up.

"Yes, I like being able to be alone with you," he said, a slight grin tugging at his lips when Vivian started to blush.

"Um, L-Lawrence will probably be here soon to fetch me for my b-bath," she said, pushing him away from her.

"Oh, then I should probably be going.." He said hesitantly, not wanting to leave her, for reasons unknown to him.

"Okay… I'll see you later then…" Vivian said, her voice carrying an undertone of disappointment, despite the fact that she was the one who pushed him away. Ciel smiled at the girl and began walking towards the door, passing Lawrence on his way out.

"Alright, time for you to get ready, mistress," Lawrence said, walking over to the young noblewoman. He picked her up, careful not to disturb her bandages from the night before, and led her to the bathroom. He disrobed her and helped her into the tub of warm water.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes as Lawrence began washing her hair.

After her bath he pulled out a robe and wrapped it around her before leading her back to the room.

"What color shall I be wearing today, Lawrence?" She asked as he opened up her trunk and began sorting through the dresses.

"I was thinking royal blue," He said as he pulled out a dress. She nodded in agreement. "What about this one?" He asks holding up a blue and black dress that had short sleeves from the closet, and a pretty... _low_... neckline.

"Oh, I don't know...it seems a bit... _un-modest_ to wear that one...And it would show my contract mark..." She looked away from the garment, a blush tainting her cheeks, while she tried to think of another reason why she shouldn't wear it. "P-Plus, um, it's so dark p-people might think I'm m-mourning or something of the sort…"

"Don't you want to catch a certain man's eyes? You wouldn't be doing much of that wearing something like _this_ ," He holds up one of her girly, pink and white dresses with a much higher neckline and lots of ruffles and bows.

"Okay, fine," She said, the blush darkening.

"Great choice," He smiles. He pulled a corset out and began pulling it on her. She thought about a conversation she had with Ciel once, when they were younger, and how then she had declared she would never wear a corset. That was the first time Ciel had ever said she was pretty. He said that she would never need a corset, for she would always be too pretty for one. Of course that was before the standards of the public's eye began to weigh down on their shoulders, as it does for most adults.

"Are you okay, my Lady?" Lawrence asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uh, yes," She says. Before he had put on her dress, he clips on her emerald necklace, so that when she was wearing the dress the only part of the necklace that was showing was the chain. He starts helping her into the dress and when she had it on, he started on her hair. She sat down in a chair in front of a large mirror and he got started. Normally, she has other people to do this for her, but since he's the only one that came with her, he's all she's got. He's all she's ever had after _he_ died...

When he's finished she looked over at herself in the large mirror in awe. "It's lovely," She said. He had braided two identical braides on both sides of her head, back, where he tied them together into one braid that sat on her naturally curly hair, which flowed down her shoulders and covered the contract mark on her collarbone. He also put a blue and black choker, since it "completed the outfit".

"Now for some jewels," He says, grabbing her jewelry box.

"Not too many. I don't want to look like I'm older than I really am," She says, smiling and tilting her head to the side.

"As you wish," He says. "Will these do?" He asks, holding two royal blue, oval drop earrings that match the dress perfectly.

"They are perfect," She says. He slowly pokes the ends of them into her ear lobes.

"Now shoes?" He asks.

" _Mm-hm_ ," She says, grabbing a pair of her dark blue stockings out of the closet. She slipped them on while she waited for him to get back. He came up in front of her, kneeling down and softly grabbing the heel of her foot, pulling it up a bit so he can put the shoes on. The outside of the shoes is black velvet with a short heel. When he finished, he stood back up and held his hand out for her. "Thank you," She said, laying her land on his and standing up. "I'll just have to get used to feeling so tall.."

"You are only an inch or two higher," He says.

"It feels like I'm walking on stilts. It's been quite awhile since I've had wear these," She mumbled to herself as she held on to Lawrence' arm for support.

"Well, let's get out of here. I know you don't like being in one place for too long," Lawrence says.

"True," She said, looking down at her hands. "Could you grab my gloves first?"

"Of course, master," He pulled her favorite black gloves out of his pocket and slipped them on her outstretched hands.

"Thank you," She said again, "now we can go."

"Yes, my Lady," He says, placing his hand on his chest and bowing slightly.

She walked down the hall, to Ciel's office. She walked up to the door and stopped. She stared at it for the longest time. What was she going to say when she walked in? Oh, she hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself.. The small Duchess took a deep breath and raised her hand up to knock. She pulled it back. She raised it again, before pulling it back again. She didn't want to disturb him. She took another deep breath and knocked lightly on the door. "Who is it?" He calls.

"It-it's- uh, Vivian..." She said timidly.

"Oh, come in," He says.

"Stay out here," She whispered to Lawrence. He nodded and her hand moved to the door knob. She lightly enclosed her hand around it and turned it slightly before opening the large door and walking in. Ciel looked up at her, and his eye widened, and his mouth agape slightly. She blushed a deep red. She knew she shouldn't have worn this dress! "I was- uh, wondering if you wanted to, uh, go on a stroll through town.."

"O-Of course," He snapped himself out of his almost trance like state. "I'd have to go grab my walking stick first."

"Okay," She said. He went up to her and they walked out together. She followed him to his room as he grabbed his gold handled walking stick, black cloak with the royal blue bow tie, and black top hat.

"Let's go," He smiled slightly, making a gesture for her to wrap her arm around his elbow. She nodded a bit and placed her hand on his arm before they walked out, their faithful butlers in tow. She slid her gloved hand down, so that they were holding hands instead. She looked up at him as they walk and flutters her eyelashes nervously. It has been so long since she went out in public, during the day anyway, and she's never been 'out' with a man, other than Lawrence, and that wasn't in a _romantic_ sense.

"Would you like to go to the park?" He asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Sure," She said. "Which way?"

"This way," He said, leading her down the street.

They kept walking and soon Ciel noticed the people whispering and pointing to them. Vivian ignored them. Soon some guy stepped out, pointing a knife at the young girl. "I know what you did to my family, you witch!"

He lunged at her and she calmly stepped out of the way as Lawrence grabbed the man's hand and squeezed until the knife dropped. The demon looked down at the man with contempt shining in his now-garnet eyes. The man ripped his hand out of Lawrence's grasp and ran off, muttering things about demons and witchcraft.

"Are you okay?" Ciel asked.

"Of course I am. I'm honestly used to it. Happens every time I go out in public. My reputation proceeds me, it seems," She says, flashing him a half-smile.

"What did he mean?" He asks.

"Ah, well… I had to kill quite a few people to get where I am, and back then I wasn't very discreet about it..."

"Aren't you bothered by it?" He asked and they start walking again.

"Nope. I'm ashamed, but I obviously don't want them to know that," She shrugged, "Have to keep up a brave face and all of that. I'm used to it."

"Sorry about that, but I guess it could happen to anyone," He said, true concern shining in his sapphire blue eye. It didn't show on his face, though, and he certainly didn't say anything to make it seem like he was overly concerned.

"It's quite alright. As I said before, I'm used to it," She repeated, her words being those of truth. "Though I am a tad jealous of you… I mean, nobody even knows about your work, and the people who do are actually afraid of _you_. For me, everyone hates me and aren't even really afraid of _me,_ they're afraid of Lawrence. I'm helpless without him..."

"No you're not," Ciel said sternly.

"Yes I am. I _am_ helpless. Look, someone just threatened my life and I didn't― _couldn't_ ―do a thing about it! Lawrence had to help me. _Lawrence_ ," She says, looking down and suppressing her anger as she always has. She was afraid she might lash out at him.

Ciel lightly grabs her chin and pulls her face up. "You're not helpless, you just weren't expecting someone to suddenly point a knife at you. Yes, Lawrence _does_ do a lot of things for you, but that is a _butler's_ job. And you shouldn't worry about what people think about you, you should worry about what _you_ think about _you_. How do you think of yourself?"

"Like...like I'm helpless and a murderer _-_ "

"But you're not. Well, you are a murderer, but that's besides the point. You're obviously not helpless," He cuts her off.

"You really think so?" She asks, her eyes lighting up slightly as her cheeks heated up in turn.

"Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?" He said, smiling slightly. She did another half-smile and hugged him.

"You're too good to me," She says, pulling away. "Shall we be off, then?"

"We shall," He says. She timidly grabs his hand as they walk and intertwine their fingers.

"Uh, I-I love you, Ciel.." She said, almost shyly.

"I.. I know," he replied.

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry for not updating last week, I completely forgot. I've been working with my wonderful beta, One Sapphire Rose, on this story and the first chapter should be fixed by sometime next week or the week after. In the meantime, I'll continue to post new chapters probably.

Once again, if you want to see what the dresses in this chapter look like, the links are on my profile!

Please feel free to give me constructive criticism! I really appreciate it! :)

Thanks for reading! xo


	3. Chapter 3

They finally made it to the park and they both sat down on one of the many benches. Their butlers stood near, so that they were visible, but a safe enough distance away so that they were eavesdropping. The two nobles silently sat and watched the young children play. To Vivian, it reminded her of when they were kids. After thinking about that she suddenly let out a small giggle when she recalled an earlier memory of something the young Earl did as an even younger boy.

"What's so funny?" He asks.

"I was just thinking of that time it was your mother's birthday and you and I tried to make a cake for her and we nearly destroyed the kitchen," She said, half-smiling at the memory.

"Oh yes, I remember that. Didn't we somehow put gunpowder in the cake instead of baking powder?" Ciel chuckled.

"Yeah! And then when we tried to make the frosting we put salt in instead of sugar!" Vivian snorted, her face striking that of mock terror. "Oh god and when we tasted it, it tasted like a salt block!"

He laughed. "It did.. My father ended up just taking us to the bakery to pick out a cake instead."

"Yes, and if I remember correctly _you_ tried to persuade us to get a gross fruit cake," Vivian grinned at him.

"I did not! That was you. I remember wanting to get a chocolate one and _you_ wanted to get the fruit cake. I know it was you too because you used that tactic where you would pinch your arm or leg and make yourself cry to get the adults to pity you," Ciel smirked, proud of his memory.

"Aw man you're right. Then your dad made us comprise and get a chocolate cake with a fruit topping," Vivian looked down at her lap. "Things were so much simpler back then when we were kids, weren't they?"

"Yes, indeed they were." Ciel nodded. After that they fell into a comfortable silence, both silently recalling different childhood memories.

"Oh! I forgot to ask! How are you still alive? If I remember correctly a few years ago there was an article in the newspaper about your death. You kinda disappeared for awhile." She said, breaking the silence after a couple moments.

"I was turned into a demon," He says bluntly.

"Oh," She giggles, and then starts laughing. "Good...thing!" She says between giggles. "I was worried you were a zombie or something!" She started laughing once again. She calmed down and with a smile on her face she says, "Because if you were, I would have to kill you." She says it in a serious tone, her face dropping as well.

"Really?" He asks, his eye widening slightly from the last thing she said. He wasn't actually scared of her, he had just never seen her look so serious before.

"Mm-hm. I read a story about them once and I really wouldn't fancy you as much if you tried to eat me. Lawrence taught me about other supernatural beings too...Actually, he taught me everything I know about anything supernatural. He's my supernatural-tutor," She said, smiling. "But since you're just a demon, there's nothing really to worry about," She paused, and in a small voice she says, "But I know, if you or I were Angels, and we had to kill each other, _you would probably win_. Especially since I'm just a human. I'm gonna die anyway."

Ciel got silent. Truth be told, he hadn't thought about the fact that she was still just a human. She _would_ die of natural causes, if not one of the many death threats she got.

Inwardly, Vivian freaked out at Ciel's sudden silence. Did she say the wrong thing? Yes. She said the wrong thing when she mentioned dying. Of course it was a topic that was going to come up eventually if they were to be staying together, but she shouldn't have brought it up while they were having a good time. She's so stupid! Why does she always talk without thinking first! Now he's probably going to kick her out of his life again... The silence was deafening, and she was about to say something when Ciel finally spoke up. "No you're not..." He said before shaking his head. He knew he was in denial, but he didn't care. "I- um, would never be able to kill you. Even if you were an Angel."

She was speechless after he said that. She looked up at him with guilt in her eyes for even bringing it up. "...I'm sorry," She says softly as she looks down at the ground.

"For what?" He asks, seeming completely confused.

"For bringing it up in the first place. I shouldn't have joked about something as serious as me dying-" He cuts her off by pulling her chin up with his index finger and thumb and staring her in the eyes.

" _It's fine,_ " He says, practically staring her down.

"But-but," She stammers, unable to move her eyes from his.

" _It is fine_ ," He says again. Her lip quivered and she nodded, even though he wasn't asking a question. He let his hand drop down to her's and Vivian smiled lightly at him.

"Th-thank you.." She whispered, not really expecting him to hear her.

"You're welcome," He whispered back, grinning slightly at the girl.

"We should go back to the manor, before we get arrested for public displays of affection," She said, smiling lightly.

"How could we get arrested, when _I am the police_?" He asks, standing up and grabbing her hand.

She shrugged. "I know... I guess I'm just a little- uh," She blushed and looked down at the ground again. " _Embarrassed?"_ She whispers, blushing darker. He chuckled and they started walking back, in the direction of the manor. "What do you want to do when we get back?" She asks.

He checks his watch and looks at her. "I'm not sure," He says, shrugging. "Maybe we could read?" Immediately she stuck her tongue out and made a disgusted face.

"Eww! I hate reading! Too many words.." She pouted at him. "I thought you knew me better than to suggest such a thing!"

"You'll never change, will you?" He asks.

"You're so mean!" She says, pushing him with her free hand. "I've changed a lot! I just don't like books..."

"I could tell," He says, smiling at the girl. "If you don't want to read any books, then I have plenty of games we could play."

She pouted. "Really? You promise you won't cheat, like you always used to?" She asks.

"It's not called cheating. I like to call it… winning with an unlawful strategy," he says.

"Hmm… Fine! I'll at least take the high ground and promise not to 'win with an unlawful strategy'!" She says with a bright smile.

Ciel shook his head at her. "Yeah, if I remember correctly you were always the one to bend the rules when we were kids."

"Hmph. That was only because I like to win…"

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter is kind of short, so I might ( _might_ ) upload another one this weekend. Hope you enjoyed it! :D

Any comments, pointers, tips, etc are all appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

When they get back to the mansion, they walk up to stairs and stop at Vivian's door. "I _have_ to change into something a little less corset-y. I'll only be gone for five minutes, then I am so going to kick your butt," She says, smiling mischievously.

"Yeah, okay. Good luck with that," He says. Vivian rolls her eyes at him playfully and watches him walk down to the sitting room. She walks into her room, with Lawrence following behind her. She sat down and he started by taking off her black shoes, then her dark blue stockings, then he pulled off her gloves and undid the braids in her hair. She stood up and he took the dress off. She stood in the middle of the room, half naked while Lawrence tried finding one of her regular dresses. She stared at the burns and scars marring her body, unable to tear her eyes away. "My lady?" Lawrence asked, snapping her out of her trance like state.

"H-Huh?" She asked, blinking a few times in confusion.

"You seem distracted. Is everything alright?" He asked while he helped her into the soft gown.

"Yes, everything is perfect," She says, smiling to reassure him. Oh, how she wished she could repay him _somehow_. He had been stuck with her for the past 3 years since she had summoned him when she was 12 and had only accidentally trapped him in eternal servitude the year before, and she was 15 now. He probably resents her, for keeping him. She didn't blame him.

"Okay," He says, dismissing her. She curtsies slightly before walking out with a smile on her face. She walks up to the sitting room and walks in just as Ciel finished putting down the pieces for chess. "I see I'm just in time!" She walked over and sat down in the chair on the side that had the white pieces. "Prepare to be slain, Ciel!"

…

Ciel and Vivian played 5 rounds of chess, and Vivian lost every single one of them. Not even in an 'oh I could have won if I hadn't done this _one_ mistake' way, but more of an 'I didn't even think it was possible to lose so horribly' sort of way. Like, Ciel completely destroyed her. He took out almost all of her pieces every time before taking out her king. It was almost as if he was taunting her, taking out her resources before ending the game. Jerk. So, after refraining from flipping the chess board over, Vivian stormed off to the library to grab a book on chess strategies and fell asleep reading it.

…

Vivian slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head up with a small groan at the uncomfortable position she had been sleeping in. She looked around and realized it was still pretty early in the morning. She put the book over on her nightstand and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. Suddenly an, admittedly random and slightly embarrassing, thought struck her. Why wouldn't Ciel say 'I love you' to her? She knew demons lacked emotions such as love, so maybe he wasn't physically able to say it? She had to test this out.

…

After laying back down with that thought still in her mind, she accidentally fell back asleep. A couple hours later, she was woken by Lawrence. He had lightly shaken her shoulder, making her open her eyes slowly, then quickly. "Oh!" She jumped out of the bed, startling him.

"Are you alright, master?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded her head as her sky blue colored eyes clashed with his own deep purple, practically black, eyes. She sighed through her nose and hugged him, though, since she's so small, she buries her face into his stomach. "I- ah, what are you doing?"

"I love you...in a completely platonic way," She says giggling. Since it didn't seem like she was letting go anytime soon, he hesitantly wraps his arms around her shoulders. She thought that maybe he would say it back. She hoped he didn't though, because that would mean that Ciel wasn't saying it on purpose.

"Why are you doing this?" He asks.

"Because, I feel as though I need to repay you for caring for me. Even if you don't truly _care_ , I'm still thankful for the fact you're here, and, hopefully, not secretly resenting me for putting you in eternal servitude. So, I'm trying to give you what most demons don't get. _Love_ ," She says, pulling away, and looking up at him again, hope shining in her eyes.

Lawrence has a shocked look on his face as questions swirl through his head. Most of which, were, _"Is she serious about this, or is she just projecting her feelings for the previous Lawrence onto me?"_

"You don't have to return the feeling, but I just wanted you to know that," She sighed, the hope in her eyes being crushed. Looks like she had to get him to warm up to her a bit more before he would say it back. She pulled away from the hug to walk to her closet and rummage through it until she found a purple and black dress, with a corset style in the front. "Help me into it?" She asks, holding up the dress in front of him. The dress was mostly black and a little bit to frilly for her tastes, but it would do. She had also noticed a theme going with most of her dresses lately, and that was gothic. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, since she never really wanted to seem like the gothic type, but she guessed it wasn't that bad… It made her seem more pale, which was a downside.

"Of course, Duchess," He says, taking the dress and helping her into it. After he finished, she hugged him again before skipping out of the room without even having him do something to cover her mark, which peaked out slightly from underneath the fabric of her dress _._

The demon stood there in a shocked trance as he stared at the door long after it had closed. What was this he was feeling? Love? No...that wasn't demonly possible. Demons don't feel emotions like that. Demons couldn't feel emotions like _love_ , or _sadness_ , or even really happiness.. _But Ciel does._ A voice in the back of his head tells him. But Ciel has a human-like nature that other demons _didn't_. He had a lot of things most demons didn't. Like a sense of self. Lawrence Griffin wasn't Lawrence Griffin without Vivian to tell him to be. She gave him somewhat of a sense of self, from the day she summoned him, until the day he consumed her soul, which now, wouldn't happen until much later in their lives.

Lawrence pondered the thought for a few more moments before shaking his head and walking out of the room. Demons shouldn't think like that. But still, why had she seemed so hopeful when she hugged him? Had she expected him to do something? He sighed. He didn't know...

* * *

 **AN:** Thanks for reading! :D I guess the links I've been putting in haven't been working, so I'll put them in my profile if you want to see what the dresses look like. I'll be sure to change the previous chapters so that they have this same message. ^^

Once again, all comments, tips, and any constructive criticism is appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**(Time skip, 3 months later)**

Vivian trembled, letting out shallow breaths, as she didn't want to suck out all of the air from the tight confinement she was currently in. It was so cold if she could see, she'd be seeing her breaths come out in little puffs. Slowly tears trickled down her cheeks and she sobbed quietly. She didn't want to die, oh how she didn't want to die! "Ciel..." She sobbed quietly, as she curled up and hugged her knees to her chest. "Ciel... I'm _sorry_.."

 **(One Week Earlier…)**

"Ciiiieeeelllll!" She calls, running through the manor until she got to his study. She barged into the room, with a wide smile on her face.

He looked up from his papers, a mask of indifference on his face. "Did you get the deal?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at her. Inside, he felt… Well, he didn't know. It felt like happiness, for her, but he couldn't tell.

"Yes!" She cries, running over and hugging him. "I now own over half of all beverage-making companies in both France and Britain!"

"That's great." He says, reluctantly hugging her back. "Maybe we can celebrate with a glass of champagne later?" He asked, and she smiled even brighter.

"Oh, I'd love that! That almost sounds better than the deal itself!" She giggled again, unable to stop smiling.

"Is it really, now?" He asks, pulling away with his eyebrow raised again. "Because I can remember you talking on and _on_ about how amazing it would be if you could convince this guy to join your little 'chain'." He ran his fingers through her curly hair, the side of his mouth tilted up in a grin.

She seemed to grow sheepish. "I know, I just… I love spending time with you, and with work and stuff, we haven't been able to as much… So just some time alone with you would be great…" She tucked a stray curl behind her ear and continued smiling at him.

He chuckled and patted her head as if she were some sort of cute animal. "Then that's what we shall do. Maybe we could even bring some chess into it…"

"No! Anything but chess!"

 **Hours Later…**

Vivian just couldn't fathom why she was so bad at chess. She thought that maybe Ciel was cheating. Yeah… That had to be it…

Eventually, Ciel granted her mercy and they started playing a different board game, one more suited to her childish tastes. She didn't know what it was called, but it had to do with money management and buying properties. All she knew was every time she cashed in five separate hundred dollar bills or one five hundred, Ciel seemed to get more and more frustrated. Finally, a game she didn't lose so horribly at.

 **A Couple More Hours Later…**

After a couple games of monopoly, Vivian and Ciel laid together on Ciel's large bed, both reading. Well, Ciel was reading. Vivian was looking at picture books. That was as close as she was going to get to reading, so Ciel took it. Of course, she knew how to read, she just didn't enjoy it very much. Another hour passed and Ciel looked over to realize Vivian had fallen asleep with her book covering her face. Ciel's lips turned up in a slight grin as he pulled the blanket up over her, placed her book on the nightstand, and laid down. He turned off the lamp on his bedside table and soon fell asleep as well.

...

Vivian suddenly screamed as she awoke from her nightmare. Ciel quickly woke up too, being the light sleeper he is. She panted, hugging the blanket closer to her nightgown-clad body as her chest heaved in and out.

"Vivian, are you okay?" Ciel asks, sitting up with her and putting a hand on her shoulder. She calmed her breathing enough to give him an explanation.

"I-I had a nightmare...about being buried alive.." She said, her voice shaking as she started making sobbing noises and buried her head her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks and his hand moved down from her shoulder to her back, and he rubbed it in a comforting way. He wasn't sure what else to do, at this point. "It-it was awful! It was so..so real."

"Ssh..don't worry, you're fine. You're safe here with me," He says, offering up a small, reassuring smile to try and calm her down.

"But...but... it seemed so real...I was taken by this strange creature and buried...and I didn't wake up until I almost suffocated to death!" She says as tears threaten to fall again.

"Please don't cry again...please..." He says, his sapphire eye pleading with her. He didn't know how to deal with a crying girl and didn't want to try it again. It was starting to get a little bit annoying.

"O-Okay," She sniffled, wiping her eyes. She straightens her back and lays back down on the bed. He also settled down next to her and started to doze back off when he felt her arms creep around his torso.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, grinning in amusement. She pressed her blushing face against his back, and paused before answering,

"I'm cold…"

 **One Week Later…**

Oh, how Vivian missed Ciel... Her body aches to be held again. Her hand reaches up to her lip as she felt something moist run down it. Her lip was bleeding… Her fingers were already starting to go numb, it was so cold.

She keeps crying, making soft whimpering sounds. She is going to die down here. No one was going to save her.

A Few Hours Earlier…

"Don't worry, Ciel, I'll be fine. I just have to run into town real quick!" She says giggling lightly.

"Okay.." He says, releasing her waist. She smiles and turns around to face him. "Just be safe."

"Like I said, don't worry," She says, softly pecking his cheek. "I'll be back before the dinner bell chimes."

"You promise?" He asks, with worry showing in his sapphire eye, thought it didn't show in his voice.

"I promise." She leaned in and hugged him. She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "I love you."

"I know..." He says.

Her smile twitched into a frown, only for a moment, before she continued grinning. Still, she couldn't quell the dark feelings swirling in her center, as well as the worry she was feeling. Why does she feel like this is the last time she'll ever see him? She's only running into town to check on one of her warehouses, then she'll be right back. Why did she have such an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach? "Bye," She said as she stood back up and walked to the door with a, now forced, smile on her face.

"Bye," He waved. She walked out and into the hall. She quickly walked to her room and grabbed her coat, since it was already autumn. She walked downstairs and out the front door. She stepped into her carriage, with Lawrence already in it, waiting for her.

She smiled and sat across from him. The ride into town was silent, and she just couldn't shake that feeling of worry...was it because Ciel was so worried? No...he's always like that when she has to go do something on her own. Was it some freaky sixth sense? No. That kind of stuff only happens in stories. She sighs. "Is everything alright, my lady?" Lawrence asked.

She offered him a weak smile. "Yes, everything is quite alright. I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, that's all. Nothing to worry about," She said, staring down at her gloved hands. "It's probably nothing. No need to worry yourself, Lawrence."

"Okay," He says, bowing his head slightly.

Shortly after their conversation ended, they arrived at the bottling factory. "Stay here, I can handle this on my own," She said as she stepped out of the carriage. "Though, if I seem to be gone for too long, you can come in."

He hesitates before speaking, but says, "Yes...my lady..." She walks up to the factory and inside.

"Hello?" She calls out. Her voice echoed off the walls and she stopped walking. This is beyond odd. There's no one. Not a soul in sight. She looks around. "Is anyone here?" Suddenly, she sensed someone behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her eyes widen in fear. "Wh-who's there?" She asks, her voice shaking.

Then, she felt something hard hit her head, and she fell unconscious.

 **A Few Hours Later…**

"Ciel...I'm sorry..." She whispered. "I broke my promise, and I'm never going to see you again..." She knew he couldn't hear her, but somehow, some way, she wished she could deliver her message. She searched around the small, cramped space for something, anything, she could use to write a simple message. Then she found it. A piece of paper, and a quill, with a small bottle of ink. _The guy that brought me here probably thought I'd need this. How thoughtful._ With her adjusted vision, she is semi-easily able to write down a note, though more like a letter.

She finished it, and with a shaking hand, she signs her name at the bottom.

The blonde duchess laid there for a moment, waiting to die until she remembered something an old friend had taught her long ago. His voice popped up in her head saying, " _Don't let them take you… Go out on your own terms, like me…_ " Her eyes widened and she quickly (as quickly as she could with her stiff joints, anyway) took the bottle of ink and used her finger to trace out an intricate array consisting of different sigils and a pentagram on the floor next to the note. It was hard to do with what little light she had. Then, with fumbling hands, she unclasped her necklace and set it down in, what she assumed was the center of her pentagram. She then pressed her hands against the edges of it and started mumbling a mantra she had memorized years ago. The ink on the ground glowed dimly and Vivian could feel herself growing fainter and fainter as her soul was being tugged out of her body...

 _Goodbye...Ciel..._

* * *

 **AN:** Sorry for the long wait! To make up for it I'll try to upload tomorrow too! xo

If you have any comments or criticisms, feel free to PM me! I'm always up for suggestions!


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